PetroChina May Buy Energy Assets Weakened by Crisis

PetroChina Co., Asia’s biggest oil producer, may buy energy companies made vulnerable by the global credit crisis to expand output and meet rising fuel demand in China, Chairman Jiang Jiemin said.

PetroChina is studying the possibility of acquiring financially stressed resources companies, Jiang told reporters after a shareholders meeting in Beijing today.
Oil companies in China have resumed their quest for global resources after a two-year hiatus as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and falling commodity prices prompt a sell-off in share markets, making companies cheaper to acquire. Highly leveraged companies are also seeking to sell assets to ease their debt-burdens and cut refinancing risks.

“We are studying the operational status of some international resources companies including energy companies in the capital market, and we will not give up any opportunity if any,” Jiang said.

Bloomberg